Seoul is considered one of the most densely-populated and over-priced cities in the world, reaching a staggering $ 80,000 per square meter. The extreme conditions of the city have forced local architects to operate, design, and build framing the city's urban issues, traditions, and history. This approach by architects has created the theoretical basis of “The Condition of Seoul Architecture”, a publication by multidisciplinary practice TCA Think Tank which sees the point of view of 18 innovative South Korean architects.
In this interview, Pier Alessio Rizzardi, founder of the practice, talked to Cho Byoung-soo of BCHO Architects, discussing traditional Korean Architecture, the struggles of the contemporary Identity, and his sensitive approach to materiality, nature and time.
“To have a rich experience of light, it must first be dark. Light is something observed and lived only if there is darkness, and even darkness itself can be perceived only if there is light. If there is only darkness in the universe, we cannot say that darkness exists, because we cannot recognize it. In this way, nothing exists and there is nothing.” -- Cho Byoung-soo
